Nation

Group says it bought land via open tender

GEORGE TOWN: Ivory Properties Group Berhad (IPGB) has clarified that it won the bidding for the sale of the 41.5ha land in Bayan Mutiara through open tender.

Its chairman and group CEO Datuk Low Eng Hock said the company had participated in the tender called by the Penang Government, which closed on Dec 31, 2010.

It emerged successful in its bid at the price of RM240 per sq ft or RM1.072bil.

He said the state government, in awarding the tender to IPGB as the highest bidder, imposed an additional requirement of reducing the term of payment from the original eight to five years.

“This was agreed to by IPGB and all necessary announcements were lodged with Bursa Malaysia. The group had paid the deposit of RM22.1mil.

“The remainder will be paid according to the scheduled progress payment after IPGB's shareholders' approval at the extraordinary general meeting scheduled on March 5,” Low said in a press statement yesterday.

A controversy had erupted when Barisan Nasional Back-benchers Club vice-chairman Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan tweeted recently that the “super-prime land” had been sold for “pittance”, adding that the price was negotiated.

The RM240 per sq ft price tag was a lot cheaper than surrounding land which he claimed was priced at RM420 per sq ft.

On Friday, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng challenged Penang Umno chief Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman and Abdul Rahman to retire from politics if they could not prove that the deal was not done through open tender.

Lim also offered to retire from politics if there is proof that the sale was not made through open tender.

Zainal Abidin later produced a document which he claimed otherwise.

Yesterday, Lim said he would explain the issue tomorrow with documents.

“We will see who will have to retire from politics,” he said after opening the True Moderation' conference at a hotel here.